2020 Walking Weekend - Trossachs etc (3)

 Some additional photos from Ian from his adventures on Tuesday:

Arden House - apparently where Dr. Finlay was filmed

Ben Venue which (Ian reported) only 3 of the group climbed

Rob also went solo on Tuesday - first to Loch Ard:

"Secondly, the splendidly named Loch Drunkie, but a real boring forest walk":

 

"And finally, the difficult to photograph Falls of Leny":

2020 Walking Weekend - Trossachs etc (2)

Hot off the press - Ken's latest match report and photos:

"Weather on Monday was very mixed with mist and drizzle most of the day but the promise of clearing up late afternoon.  We elected to take a short walk around the Bracklin Falls in the morning followed by a siesta before tackling Ben A'an in the late afternoon. The plan worked a treat as the clouds cleared and the sun appeared during the stiff climb to the summit.  Great evening in the Waverley with good food, drink and the large screen in our part of the bar showing the Liverpool Arsenal match, topped off by some Highland Park drams to celebrate Robs sixty something birthday.  

 

Plan for Tuesday diverged with Rob preferring an easier walk option, Ian electing to cycle and the others heading for Ben Venue.  Lovely day with a perfect sunny morning and a bright afternoon.  Ben Venue walk was most enjoyable with great views midst the swirling clouds - very atmospheric.  John showed his mettle by bearing his legs in the face of a chilly breeze on top.  Wednesday is looking like a washout so not expecting much more walking!"

Bracklin Falls

Ben A'an

Ben Venue summit

Tuesday morning mist on Loch Achray

From Ian:

2020 Walking Weekend - Trossachs etc

From the original twelve, 5 made it to Pitlochry on Sunday for the hike up Ben Vrackie. Here's Ken's match report and photos:

"We settled on Ben Vrackie above Pitlochry as the days objective, apart from Rob who had his own plans to meet family in Glen Nevis.  The drive from Banchory to Pitlochry was spectacular with clearing blue skys, morning frost (-4 in Glen Shee) and quiet roads.  We met as arranged only to discover that Dave had forgotten his rucksack, doh!  With such a good weather forecast Dave decided to join us anyway and made a plan to meet Jane in Braemar afterwards to pick up his bag.  The walk and weather were fabulous and the pics speak for themselves. It's a very popular path but easy to see why.  At the end of the walk we enjoyed a fine pint of IPA in the Moulin Hotel beer garden - very pleasant.  Straightforward drive to Callander and check-in to the Waverley which is quite acceptable.  A  chilly outdoor pre-dinner pint at the Waverley followed by curry at the Crags.  Rob had tales to tell about his Glen Nevis walk where his sons had to help with rescuing a punter who had fallen into the river.  Excellent day all round (apart from the chap who fell in the river)."

Ian posted the stats on Strava:

Meanwhile, Rob was on his way to join the group but first he took a detour to Fort William to meet up with his sons and take a walk through Glen Nevis and out to Steall Falls. He posted the following photos on Facebook:

That was Sunday. On Monday, it was Ben A'an:

Here's the stats:

There also appears to have been a secondary walk to Bracklin Falls:

Craigendarroch

With the new restrictions in place re gatherings, Colin and I formed a mini-bubble for the planned walk up Craigendarroch. I had assumed we might be joined by other pairings but now feel my e-mail must have confused the others as nobody else took the opportunity to join us on a gloriously sunny afternoon. Apologies to all if that was the case.

It was also planned as an experiment - our first use of our bus passes since the start of the lockdown back in March. We need not have feared the journey - the 201 was a double-decker again and there were so few passengers we felt perfectly safe. It was a test, however, for our ability to wear our face masks for the 40 minute journey - and that was no bother either, so I would be quite happy to repeat the journey on another occasion when the opportunity arises.

We approached the hill from the old station, walking west along the main road for a couple of hundred yards, then turning in to Craigendarroch Walk where we found the path that led us to the circular trail of the hill - anti-clockwise - how would Colin cope?

The initial climb is fairly steep, but mercifully short. We came to a y-junction and opted to take the left fork as that appeared to be the one that would lead us right round the hill and hopefully eventually to the top. We were half right - it did lead us round the hill but soon we stopped climbing. By this time we were on the north side of the hill, running parallel to the Pass of Ballater, and still on the official path, but then we started losing height and got concerned that we were heading back down to ground level.

Thankfully, we came across a local who was descending the hill and she directed us upwards, explaining that there are several waymarkers, not all of which are current - some are out of date and haven't been removed. We thanked her and then headed straight to the top. We were always going to get there, but she certainly saved us some unnecessary excess hiking.

We were pretty hot and sweaty when we arrived at the summit, where the temperature was in excess of 20 C with not a breath of wind. The top is pretty clear of trees and there are excellent views of Ballater, Lochnagar and back down the Dee valley. There's one of the largest stone cairns I've ever seen and plenty of large rocks for sunbathing, as demonstrated in the photos below:

Had it not been for the lure of the fine Ballater pubs and the prospect of some real ale again, we could happily have stayed there for a while - it was truly glorious.

The way back down was much easier to find and we managed to complete the circumnavigation that we had planned. Here's the stats:

A couple of excellent pints of Trade Winds in the Alexandra's new beer garden were followed by one more of Windswept's excellent new (to me) Witch Pricker, a dark chocolate stout - highly recommended - in the Barrel's newly extended beer garden.

Hill of Fare

Yesterdays' walk was going to be a relatively quiet one but a few late entrants swelled the numbers to 8. There was a little confusion over the meeting point but eventually we got that sorted and 6 cars containing 7 of us managed to get parked at the layby on the B977 to Echt.

The fractionally late arrival was John who had decided to cycle there. He arrived hot, sweaty and breathless after a 10 mile cycle via Flora's and then put his bike in the back of Gordon's giant vehicle before we all lined up for the team photo, suitably socially distanced:

The circular walk was one that Stewart and Gordon had done a few times before so there was no need for the detailed printed route instructions I was carrying.

This way up to Meikle Tap is a sweeping gentle climb, unlike our more direct but steeper previous walk to the top a couple of years ago. On the way we passed a couple of notable landmarks. First was the old dam, where the rest of the team attempted a Beatles' album cover style pose:

Nearer the top is a solitary standing stone:

About this point, we started to experience a few passing showers which produced several rainbows, the strangest one of which I tried - but failed - to get on camera. It appeared to be an unusual shape, arcing upwards from what should have been the high point of the rainbow. You may just spot a shadow of it here:

The way back down was trickier - relatively steep and rocky with a lot of water erosion - not good for those of us with dodgy joints. 

We completed this short walk in good time and 5 of us decided to head to the Legion for a swift pint of ale on the terrace there.

Here's the stats: